重回比利时学校 Back to school – working student in Belgium

I remember back in the year 2012, the last year of my study in university, I was so fed up with attending the lectures, the labs, and projects, I just wanted to get my diploma and started working! I guess the real problem was not because that I hated study, but rather I did not have any idea how the knowledge I acquired in school can be applied in work or life.
还记得2012年在比利时上学最后一年的时候，实在是不想再去听课，做实验，做项目了，一心就想着早日混到考试，毕业然后开始工作。我猜那时候大家都有一点读烦了了的意思，并不是厌学，而是读了20几年书，并不知道学到的知识哪些到社会上会有用，哪些没用。

Funny thing is, somewhere in 2017, after 5 years of professional life, I considered going back to school!
In this post, I will share some of my experiences on becoming a student again.
有趣的是，去年2017年，工作了5年的我，竟然有了想重回校园的冲动。

Define the reason and the subject – 为什么想重回学校，想学什么
The good thing comparing work to study is that people around you at work are different in experiences, background, major, characteristic, etc, however, in (day time) school, everyone is more or less busy with the same thing.
我觉得工作和学生时代最大的不同其实是身边的人，想想学生时代，大家都是那么淳朴，在一起上学的人学习心思和背景也都差不多，都是一心只读圣贤书，希望早日找到工作。 然而，开始工作以后就会发现，身边的人每个人都有自己的故事，来自不同的学校，有着不同的工作经历，从他们身上能学到的东西真的是太多了。

In 2016, I was still working in an Engineering consulting company, I noticed that those colleagues I admired had something in common: They all had first one engineering master’s degree, then later on a degree in MAB, or master of management.
2016年，我当时还在一个工程的咨询公司工作，我突然意识到一个有趣的现象，身边的那些让我觉得值得学习的人都有一个共同特点：他们都是一开始像我一样有一个工程的硕士学位，紧接着，或者工作几年后，又修了一个管理的学位。

With my background in Electronics Engineering, I ended up in IT eventually, my first choice of program was “Information Management” in KU Leuven. Luckily after chatting with people around, the suggestion for me was actually a pure management program, instead of another technical program, I should choose a program to complement my technical background.

我的学习背景是电子工程，在选择学习项目的时候，我一开始的选择其实是鲁汶大学的“信息管理”硕士项目，因为这个项目的课程和我之前的学习和现在的工作都有交叉，相当一是一个升华。 我拿着这个想法咨询了一下身边的前辈，他们很建设性地跟我说，这个项目比较偏技术，管理的知识只是皮毛，它可以给我提供的知识在我工作的着5年我已经学到了。想要更加有挑战的学习项目，应该考虑纯粹的管理硕士项目。 我听取了他们的建议。在比利时，有好几所大学（VUB, Solvay, Ichec, UCL…）提供纯管理的硕士项目，而且是在晚上和周末，不会太耽误工作。

In Belgium, there are multiple options for such evening programs:

VUB
Ichec
Solvay
and others…

Part-time / Full-time 半工还是全职上学？

I was never planning on having a career break in order to follow the master program, my career was not blocked by anything, I simply wanted to improve my financial and management skills, for the future, in case needed. Naturally, I looked for programs in the evenings.
其实我从来没有要为了上学放弃工作的打算，我现在的工作还没有遇到什么瓶颈，只是想要增强经融和管理方面的知识和技能，以防以后需要。很自然的，我的考虑范围局限在比利时能够提供晚上和周末课程的学校。

If you feel that extra study is an added value for your current work, I suggest you keep the current work and follow a program in the evening or weekend. A lot of universities offer serious evening programs for work students. In the end, it is good to keep the salary paycheck.
如果你感觉重新学习知识为了给你现在的工作锦上添花的话，我建议你像我一样继续工作，或者至少半工半读，因为比利时很多学校的提供晚上和周末的课程都是和白天一样正式的，很多全职学生晚上上课的同时，白天可以学学语言，或者找点临时工，这是很好的安排。而且，说实在的，继续工作增加你工作经验的同时，也给你已有的消费提供经济支持。

However, if you are striving for is something completely different from what you are doing now, which means it requires a significant amount of effort, you’d better concentrate on what you are striving for, my friend Luxi quitted being an engineer and went back to medical school after 3 years of working, and she is very happy about the decision and super motivated.
然而，如果你重回学校的原因是你完全想要做和现在不一样的事，这就说明首先，你现在工作已经和你以后想要做的事没有什么关系，其次，全新的领域需要很多的努力，那么我建议你放弃工作全力以赴地回到学校为自己的梦想奋斗吧！我的好朋友露西就为了自己当医生的梦想，放弃已经有3年工作经验的工程学位，回到学校重头开始学医。虽然她放弃了很多，但是我重来没开到她像现在一样开心。

Is it possible to combine study and work? 一边工作一边上学可以吗？

The program I chose is Msc in Management from VUB (Vrije Universiteit of Brussels), the program itself (78 credits) in one year is quite heavy for a full-time working student. People who follow it in 1 year have lectures every single evening, also often on Saturday morning.

I was not yet so committed to such a heavy schedule, so I chose to spread it in 2 years, in the end, I go to school max 3 times per week, heavy, but quite doable.
我选择的项目是VUB的一个78个学分的管理项目，课程非常紧，一年下来几乎每天晚上和周六都有3-4个小时的课。我已经预料到全职工作加上这样的作息表会让我的身体和精神吃不消，所以果断选择2年来修完这个项目，这样下来我每周7天最多三天有课。

If you are wondering if it is possible to combine full-time work and study in 1 year? The answer is, hard, but not impossible, people who did it told me, that their personal life was put on hold for this whole year, but they managed and got the diploma in the end!

如果你在想在全职工作的同时，有没有可能一年把这个项目修下来？答案是当然可以，很难但是可以。我已经知道有人一年修下来了，现在班上也有一个同学一年学习加工作，唯一的问题是，你这一年几乎没有出去跟朋友聚餐的机会，没办法去运动，周末除了写作业就是睡觉，但是他们一年拿到了学位！

What about life? 对个人生活的影响

Personally, my life is not too much affected, so far, with very careful planning, I am still able to manage my work, study, visit friends, watch movies, etc. The main reason is, thank god, I have a very very supportive husband!

He gave me permission to put aside my household a bit and focus on my work and study, which is a great asset for me, this is also my secret of a high level of energy.

我的个人生活并没有多少影响，到目前为止，如果仔细计划，我还是可以找到时间工作，换工作，学习，和朋友聚聚，偶尔去运动一下，看看电影。除了因为我把课程分成两年来上，另外一个更重要的原因是，我的老公孙睿，对我的决定给与的是绝对的支持！ 他允许我把家务放一边，好好学习，这也是为什么别人都很好奇，学习加上工作我还有这么多精力，所以找对老公很重要！ 呵呵

Is it difficult to follow the lectures? 上课能完全听懂吗？

I am extremely happy that I eventually decided to follow this program, I honestly cannot wait to go to the class each evening. I no longer have the feeling of 6 years ago, management courses are not that hard any way, but more importantly, after some years of working experience, the knowledge seems more applicable and easier to be understood.

其实我记得在学生时代，很多时候大学里讲的东西都是似懂非懂的，因为没有在现实生活中应用的知识很快就会被人遗忘。现在的我特别期待每次的课程，我很少迟到，从没旷课，老师讲的都能听懂，其实不是人开窍了，而是工作了一段时间以后，环境中的这些实践知识已经有了，现在有人来给你讲理论，当然很容易就能与实践联系在一起。 所以工作之后重回学校是一件特别推荐的事。

Student projects 学生项目

Like other master programs, there are student projects, interesting part is, in our program, some of the students are working students, while others are full-time students. Combining those students in student projects is interesting because the views and availabilities are different. On the other hand, some people might prefer to work with working students only, for the same value, availability, and schedule, make sure you know what you want when choosing project groups!

像其他的硕士学位一样，学生项目并不可少，有趣的是，我们现在的这个项目，有很多全职学生，也有一些像我一样工作的学生。学生项目很有意思，全职学生有更多的时间，而工作的学生有很多经验，所以两者结合对项目很有帮助。然而，因为时间和成熟度的不同，也容易让小组的观点产生分歧，当然这些都是有意思的地方。

relationship with other students 和其他学生之间的关系
Perhaps many people think back to school means back to school life, it is a pity for me because it is really too hard.
My schedule only allows me to hurry to the lecture and hurry back home and prepare for the next day, my interaction with the 70+ students is only within 10. I am also completely out of the loop about the classroom drama due to lack of interest, while before (5 years ago) I was always curious and sometimes even part of it, I guess it is the consequence of getting older,
很多人会认为，重回学校等于重回学生生活，很遗憾这对我实在太难了，每次我都是匆匆赶来上课，不迟到或者迟到15分钟以内对我来说已经是奢侈了，下课也是匆匆赶回家，吃些东西，准备第二天的工作。非常遗憾我和班上70多个学生的接触只局限在10个人以内，大概是因为人年纪大了，对以前学生时代的drama已经失去兴趣了吧。

What benefit can you get in Belgium as a working student? 比利时政府会给工作学生一些什么支持
In Belgium, if you follow such a program, you are entitled to Educational leave for up to 15 days per year. Be sure to check your right and process to apply here.
因为学业的繁重，比利时政策会给与工作学生更多的带薪休假来补偿这些学业花的时间，我和我的其他的工作学生都会有在普通年假上面增加15天的年假，如果你一边工作一边学习，千万不要忘记申请比利时的教育假期！

A special thanks to all my friends and families who supported me on this decision and continue to support me on every step!
写在最后，感谢那些支持我的家人和朋友，还希望你们在接下来的一年继续鼓励我，让我坚持下来！

Read more about Belgium:

Manage your resignation in Belgium

What should you do after getting a job offer in Belgium

How can you spend the 250 euro eco cheques?

Tas refund in Belgium – Optimise your income tax

Health insurance, are you using it to its full potential?

Check all the leaves you might have missed while working in Belgium

Back to school – working student in Belgium

Fun facts about divorces in Belgium

Holiday periods – Belgium vs China

Getting to know about Flemish people

Picture reference: https://www.bruzz.be/actua/vub-student-wint-scriptieprijs-met-studie-voetbaltransfers-2017-12-19